§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the sanctions imposed upon drivers and train operators where trains pass red lights at danger; and to what extent such actions have been imposed during each of the past three years. [HL4185]
§ Lord Macdonald of TradestonRailway Group Standard GO/RT 3252Signals passed at danger sets out the requirements for both Railtrack and train operating companies (TOCs) on investigating incidents of signals passed at danger (SPADs). Under this standard, a TOC must review its own safety arrangements and, where relevant, the suitability of a driver to continue in his or her duties if he or she has been involved in three or more SPADs. A driver who is assessed as no longer competent or fit must, under the Railways (Safety Critical Work) Regulations 1994, be relieved of his or her duties. Information is not available on the number of occasions on which this sanction has been imposed.
HSE's Railway Inspectorate has a range of ways of securing any safety improvements which it considers necessary. In most cases, safety improvements are achieved without the need for formal sanctions. However, if companies or individuals fail to comply with their statutory safety duties the inspectorate has power to issue legally binding improvement or prohibition notices, or to prosecute, if necessary. So far in 1999 the inspectorate has brought one prosecution and issued one prohibition and two improvement notices as a result of SPAD incidents. There were no such prosecutions or notices in 1997 or 1998.